Israeli deputy consul visits Syracuse
By Judith L. Stander
Israeli Deputy Consul Shlomi Kofman
made his first visit to Central New York,
from October 16-17, since his appointment to the Israeli consulate in New
York City, the largest Israeli consulate
in the world.
During his visit, the Jewish Federation
of Central New York hosted a dinner at
The Oaks on October 16 and a community
leaders breakfast at Menorah Park the
following day. During the trip, Federation

leaders and Kofman participated in meetings with Onondaga County Executive
Joanne Mahoney, City of Syracuse Mayor
Stephanie Miner and the Post-Standard
Editorial Board.
Kofman functions as the liaison with the
local and national leadership of the Jewish community and coordinates interfaith
dialogue and outreach nationally for the
Israel Foreign Ministry and its missions in
the United States. He formerly headed the
Knesset’s Department of Foreign Affairs

and served as chief of staff to Israeli ambassadors to the United States Sallai Meridor
and Danny Ayalon.
Kofman was born in Tbilisi, Georgia,
and moved to Israel with his parents when

he was 9 years old. He holds a master’s
of business administration from Webster
University, a bachelor’s in international
and East Asian studies, and an associate
in science in electronic engineering.

Israeli group quietly feeding
Syrian refugees in Jordan
By Ben Sales
MAFRAQ, Jordan (JTA) – The purple
plastic sacks fill two rooms in the otherwise
sparsely furnished headquarters of a Jordanian NGO, awaiting distribution to Syrian
refugees already lined up on the sidewalk.
They contain an array of staple dry goods
– lentils, pasta, powdered milk, tea – as well
as a range of hygiene products like soap and
detergent, enough for 250 refugee families.
But before the goods are handed out, one thing
will be removed – the word “Jewish.”
Going sack by sack with a pair of scissors, an aid worker begins to cut.
“We don’t announce with trumpets that
we’re Israeli,” the worker says. “There’s no
need for that. Once you let that cat out of the
bag, everything starts to blow up.”
The sacks are paid for by IsraAid, an Israeli
nonprofit that provides disaster relief and
humanitarian aid across the world. The group
has provided medical care and psychological
services following earthquakes in Japan and
Haiti, and supplies food and other materials
to refugees at two camps in Kenya.
IsraAid began working in Jordan early
this year. Since then, the organization says it
has provided approximately $100,000 worth
of supplies to refugees who have escaped
Syria’s brutal civil war.
But because Syria and Israel technically have been at war for four decades,
discretion and security are paramount in
IsraAid’s Jordanian operation. Most aid
workers interviewed requested anonymity, as did the Jordanian nongovernmental
organization that is IsraAid’s partner on the
ground. Working with Israelis, they say,
could endanger their work and the lives of
the refugees they help.
Israelis may travel freely to Jordan, but
when the IsraAid delegation crossed the border
recently, it brought a letter from the Jordanian
NGO that would facilitate the distribution, as
well as a list of individuals in its party.
A police escort joined the group’s bumpy
ride through northern Jordan, past small
villages of flat-roofed houses, lemon groves
and vegetable fields. In the distance were
the mountains of southern Syria.
“We try to work by the book and not
go under the radar,” says Shachar Zahavi,
IsraAid’s founding director, who explains that

other countries also require extended security
checks. “The Jordanians are open to it.”
After 90 minutes, the delegation arrives
at the Jordanian NGO’s headquarters, next
to an empty lot filled with trash on a side
street in this city. The capital city of a region of the same name, half of Mafraq’s
100,000 residents are refugees from the
conflict next door.
In total, half a million Syrians have taken
refuge in Jordan. Most of them are here, in the
border region, and most arrived this year.
Directed by a soft-spoken, gray-haired retiree working without pay, the Jordanian NGO
focuses on aiding the 200,000 local refugees
not living in Zaatri, the massive United Nations refugee camp nearby. The director keeps
meticulous records of the constantly growing
number of aid recipients, registering every new
arrival, noting the size of their family and when
they last received aid. Seventy volunteers help
purchase and package supplies with funds
from groups like IsraAid.
With the word “Jewish” removed, the
purple bags begin to travel in a human chain
down a tight stairwell to the refugees below,
almost all of them women wearing long
black dresses and matching hijabs. Bags
are loaded onto trucks or carried in hand
back to wherever they are staying.
One woman approaches a volunteer to
explain, through basic Arabic and hand
motions, that a relative has cancer. Where,
she asks, can she find medicine?
“We’re still at this beginning stage,” the
aid worker later tells JTA. “You’re still being
inundated with refugees. They’re always going
to need food until the situation is stable.”
The next stop for the IsraAid workers is
Hamra, an impromptu refugee camp set up a
month ago 20 minutes outside Mafraq. Situated
under power lines, surrounded by desert and
about to be clouded by a suffocating sandstorm,
the camp is home to 25 families from a Damascus suburb who had walked 60 miles to the
Jordanian border to escape the fighting.
Now they share space in 10 tents with
dirty, beige flaps featuring the block letters
U.N.H.C.R. – for United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees – in faded blue.
Inside one, seven thin mattresses sit in a
square on a tattered rug. A second room,
See “Refugees” on page 11

Rabbis Linda Motzkin and Jonathan
Rubenstein from Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs, NY, will be in Syracuse the
weekend of November 2-3, when they will
present their program “Bread and Torah”
to the community.
SyraJews, an affiliate of the Sam
Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of
Syracuse, received a Community Fund
Grant from the Jewish Federation of Central
New York to bring “Bread and Torah” to
Syracuse. SyraJews’ mission is to create
a social network for young Jewish adults,
professionals and graduate students in
the Syracuse and Central New York area
by providing social, cultural and Jewish
programming and events in the hope that
those in their 20s and 30s will find a way
to connect to the SyraJews community and
the Greater Syracuse Jewish community.
This will be the first time that SyraJews
has initiated an activity of this kind for the
community-at-large. Syracuse Area Jewish
Educators is partnering with SyraJews for
the event by having a similar event for the
religious school children at Temple Adath
Yeshurun that morning.
Adults ages 18 and older will have the
opportunity to learn to bake challah and
make parchment from a deer hide on Saturday, November 2, from 7-10 pm, at the

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center
of Syracuse.
Sixth and seventh grade religious and
day school students, as well as students
from the Rabbi Jacob Epstein High
School for Jewish Studies, will visit
the JCC with their parents and other
adults on Sunday, from 9:30 am-noon,
to learn how to make challah, how the
Torah is made and how challah and
Torah go together.
Students in pre-kindergarten-fifth
grade from the religious schools of
Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas,
Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple
Concord, as well as the students of the
Syracuse Hebrew Day School, will attend
a similar all-school community event
at the same time on Sunday at Temple
Adath Yeshurun.
This day of learning at Temple Adath Yeshurun is organized by SAJE and sponsored
by a Community Fund Grant from the Jewish
Federation of Central New York.
The Sunday morning events will be considered a regular day of religious school at
all of the synagogues.
For more information about the religious
school event, contact Julie Tornberg at 7012685, Shannon Small at ssmall@adath.org
or Stephanie Marshall at 475-9952.

C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A
November 1.............5:40 pm................................................................ Parasha-Toldot
November 8.............4:31 pm..............................................................Parasha-Vayetze
November 15...........4:24 pm.........................................................Parasha-Vayishlach

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Congregational notes

Giving back

Research on aging

Youth activities, adult programs, Teens from the JCC’s The SPOT will IMPARA has a new research director
book discussions, concerts and more volunteer at the V.A. hospital; a coat and will co-host a public forum on
are announced by area shuls.
and blanket drive for refugees.
geriatric mental illness.
Stories on page 4
Stories on page 5
Story on page 7

a matter of opinion
From Syracuse to Jerusalem – a soccer adventure
By Roy S. Gutterman
Seven soccer games in two weeks is a tall
order, even for professional soccer players,
but for the Maccabiah Games this summer,
that was the assignment. The players were a
group of 18 guys between the ages of 35-45
from across the United States– a teacher,
filmmaker, sales rep, lawyers, businessmen
– and me, from Syracuse.
The opponents were some of the world’s
soccer powers – Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,
Great Britain, Chile and Israel. This year’s
Maccabiah Games drew nearly 8,000 Jewish
athletes from around the world to compete
in dozens of sporting events, from the traditional Olympic sports to the game near
and dear to me, soccer.
Growing up as a competitive soccer
player in New Jersey, I always wanted to
play in the Maccabiah Games, but a combination of age restrictions and scheduling
conflicts kept that from happening. Although
I could have played in college, I gave up
the game I played year-round upon entering
as a freshman. I returned to the soccer field
about seven years ago to play on a campus
intramural team with my graduate students,
who heard I played. I’ve continued the team
and play in a couple of leagues.
Last year, after I saw a Maccabi USA
poster at my old JCC in New Jersey, I
learned that there are competitions for older
athletes, with the dignified term “masters”
teams. I inquired and found out that the
35-and-older team was not going to enter
the tournament because there was no one to
chair the team due to a falling out between
the organization and a group of guys who
had played before. Thus, they needed some-

Roy S. Gutterman walked on the soccer
field during a break in play in USA versus
Israel in Jerusalem at the 2013 Maccabiah
Games in Jerusalem.
one to assume the position, and at the same
time, another guy in Dallas was talking with
Maccabi USA. They put me and this guy
together on the phone, and we became the
co-chairs of the team, charged with putting
together a team, organizing tryouts, training
camps, fund-raising and other logistical issues. My co-chair, Avi, was also a Maccabi
neophyte, but we put it together, with a lot
of assistance from the leadership of the
45-and-older team.
We organized two national tryouts in
New Jersey and Phoenix, and a training
camp in May in New York City. More than
60 guys showed up for our tryout, along
with the older team’s sessions. Seeing that
many quality Jewish athletes from around

the world was even more impressive – and
that was only during the tryouts.
From the opening ceremonies at
Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium to the soccer
fields themselves, it was amazing to see
the competition and then remember that
everyone there was Jewish. However, once
the whistle blew, there was no brotherhood
among teams. Nobody on our team had any
previous Maccabiah experience, either in
the youth, open or masters levels. These
were competitive soccer games with FIFA
licensed referees on full fields. The fields
were actually practice facilities for some
professional Israeli teams.
The games were intense, with physical
and emotional play. These were the most
competitive games I had played in for more
than 20 years since my final state cup game
that ended with me going to the hospital.
Add to the equation Israeli weather, with
game-time temperatures well into the upper 90s, as well as age, and this was not
high school.
Unlike our opponents, we would play
together as a team for the first time when
we took the field in Jerusalem. We had
players from New York City, New Jersey,
Texas, California and me from Syracuse.
Some of our opponents had played together
through several Maccabiah tournaments and
some regularly play together because the
Jewish communities in other countries are
concentrated in only a few cities and even
neighborhoods. For a game like soccer, that
sort of continuity and chemistry matters.
On the field, we were competitive. We
were only really blown out by the Israeli
team, which was rumored to be staffed by

former professional players. We took leads
against Great Britain, Argentina, Mexico
and Chile, but were not able to hold onto
our leads, except against Mexico. We were
tied with Brazil for three-quarters of the
game until a series of defensive lapses cost
us the game.
As much as we were there to play competitive soccer and try to win, there were
also plenty of other aspects of this twoweek trip. For a number of guys, this was
their first trip to Israel. For me, it was my
third. Though there was not a lot of time
for sightseeing, and physically, many of us
had difficulty walking around after playing
80-minute games, we tried to make the most
of our time. I took walking tours of the Old
City, visited the Western Wall, took a private
tour of an archeological site underneath the
base of the Wall, had lunch at the beach in
Tel Aviv and spent an afternoon at the Dead
Sea. We had Shabbat dinners, complete with
Maccabiah siddurim and kippot, and tried to
soak in as much of Israel as we could.
Though we were in every game, we ended
up only beating the team from Mexico.
Perhaps with more time to train together
and develop a more textured style of organization, we would have fared better on the
field. Nevertheless, to hit the field in real
uniforms and the Maccabi USA crest, we
were representing the USA on the field.
While all our muscles and injuries healed,
we forged connections to a new group of
teammates and Israel.
Roy S. Gutterman is a professor at the
Newhouse School at Syracuse University.
He was national co-chair of the Maccabi
USA Men’s 35 and older soccer team.

a matter of opinion
An Israeli soldier to American Jews: Wake up!
By Hen Mazzig
This article appeared in the October
10 issue of The Times of Israel and is
reprinted with its permission, www.
timesofisrael.com.
As a young Israeli who had just completed
five years of service in the IDF, I looked
forward to my new job educating people
in the Pacific Northwest about Israel. I was
shocked, however, by the anti-Israel bigotry
and hostility I encountered, especially in the
Greater Seattle area, Oregon and Berkeley. I
had been very liberal, a member of the leftist
Zionist party, Meretz, but the antisemitism
and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the
U.S. has changed my outlook personally
and politically.
This year, from January-May, I went
to college campuses, high schools and
churches to tell people about the history
of modern Israel, about my experience
growing up in the Jewish state and about
my family. I also always spoke about my
military service as an officer in an IDF
COGAT unit that attends to the needs of
Palestinian civilians who are not involved
in the conflict and promotes Palestinian civil
society. Each time I would speak and take
questions for an hour or more. I have shared
my personal story with more than 16,000
people at many, many college campuses
and high schools, including UC Berkeley,
Stanford, the University of Washington,
Seattle University and many others. Many
of those to whom I spoke were supportive,
friendly and open to hearing about my Israel.
But, sadly, far too many were not.
When I served as a soldier in the West
Bank, I got used to having ugly things
said to me, but nothing prepared me for
the misinformation, demonization of
Israel and the gut-wrenching, anti-Israel,
antisemitic hostility expressed by many
students, professors, church members and
even some high school students right here
in the Pacific Northwest.
I was further shocked by how unaware

the organized Jewish community is and how
little they are actually doing to counter this
rising antisemitism, which motivated me to
write this article.
This new form of bigotry against Israel
has been called the “new antisemitism,”
with “Israel” replacing “Jew” in traditional
antisemitic imagery and canards, singling
out and discriminating against the Jewish
state, and denying the Jewish people alone
the right to self-determination. The new
antisemitism is packaged in the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions campaign that
claims to champion Palestinian rights
though its real goal is to erode American support for Israel, discredit Jews who support
Israel and pave the way for eliminating the
Jewish state. One of BDS’ central demands
is the “complete right of return” for all the
descendants of the original Palestinian
refugees, subtle language that means the end
of Israel as the Jewish homeland because
it would turn Israel into a Palestinian-Arab
majority state.
It is surprising that an extremist group
like BDS is ever taken seriously, but BDS
advocates have found receptive audiences
in some circles. Their campaigns are wellorganized and, in many cases, well-financed.
They have lobbied universities, corporations, food co-ops, churches, performing
artists, labor unions and other organizations to boycott Israel and companies that
do business with Israel. But even if these
groups don’t agree to treat Israel as a pariah
state, the BDS activists manage to spread
their anti-Israel misinformation, lies and
prejudice simply by forcing a debate based
on their false claims about Israel.
To give you a taste of the viciousness of
the BDS attacks, let me cite just a few of
the many shocking experiences I have had.
At a BDS event in Portland, a professor
from a Seattle university told the assembled
crowd that the Jews of Israel have no national rights and should be forced out of
the country. When I asked, “Where do you

want them to go?” she calmly answered, “I
don’t care. I don’t care if they don’t have any
place else to go. They should not be there.”
When I responded that she was calling for
ethnic cleansing, both she and her supporters denied it. And during a presentation in
Seattle, I spoke about my longing for peace

between Israel and the Palestinians. When
I was done, a woman in her 60s stood up
and yelled at me, “You are worse than the
Nazis. You are just like the Nazi youth!” A
number of times I was repeatedly accused
of being a killer, though I have never hurt
See “Soldier” on page 11

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AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK
SU Regional Holocaust and Genocide Initiative Workshop
Syracuse University School of
Education’s Regional Holocaust
and Genocide Initiative will
present a workshop for teachers
on using “Echoes and Reflections: A Multimedia Curriculum
on the Holocaust” on Thursday,
November 21, from 4-8 pm, at
the Winnick Hillel Center for
Jewish Life. Those attending the
workshop will receive a free copy
of the award-winning “Echoes and
Rochester Center Reflections” curriculum.
for Holocaust
The Anti-Defamation League,
Aw a re n e s s a n d the U.S. Shoah Foundation and
I n f o r m a t i o n Yad Vashem developed the awardDirector Bonnie winning curriculum, including the
Abrams
primary source material, a DVD of
visual history survivor testimony and a comprehensive
website with supporting material and “I Witness,” a
program that allows teachers and students to explore
and design classroom programs around 1,000 video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

Workshop facilitator Bonnie Abrams is the director
of the Rochester Center for Holocaust Awareness and
Information, and the daughter of two survivors. She
created the musical program “Voices of the Second
Generation,” which is based on her parents’ stories.
The workshop will be part of the School of Education’s Continuing Education Certificate Program
in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and will be

Oaks Thanksgiving-Chanukah party
By Stewart Koenig
The Oaks at Menorah Park will hold a combination
Thanksgiving and Chanukah gathering for young, Jewish adults with developmental disabilities on Sunday,
November 17, at 2 pm. Holiday foods will be served and
Cantor Paula Pepperstone will perform holiday music. The
gathering will be underwritten by the Harry and Jeanette
Weinberg Endowment.
The holiday event will be another in a series of free
social and educational programs for Jewish adults with

Seniors Reaching Out to perform at the JCC
Performers from Seniors Reaching Out will appear in a
program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of
Syracuse on Sunday, November 17, at 2 pm. The program
will be free to the public.
SRO is co-sponsored by the JCC and Salt City Center
for the Performing Arts. JCC Executive Director Marci
Erlbacher said, “This program is a celebration of SRO’s
accomplishments since its inception in 2011 and an opportunity to encourage new memberships.”
SRO is composed of men and women ages 50 and
older, and was created by its director, Shirley Reidenbaugh, especially for assisted living centers, senior

funded by Marilyn Ziering and the Ziering Family
Foundation.
Although the program will be free and open to the
public, registration will be required by Monday, November 11, and can be done online at www.teachingtheholocaust.org. For additional information, contact Professor
Alan D. Goldberg at agoldbe1@twcny.rr.com.

developmental disabilities by the Friends of Beit Tikvah,
a group home started by Menorah Park of Central New
York in 2004. Since then, Chanukah and Passover have
been celebrated, as well as frequent summer outings,
through the years. The programs have been recognized
by the Spirit Project.
Director of The Oaks Jan Edwards said, “We’re so
pleased to offer the opportunity for these young adults to
get together, make new friends, celebrate Jewish holidays
and enjoy good times. With Chanukah and Thanksgiving
occurring at the same time this year, the gathering will be
lots of fun.”
Edwards added that the Friends of Beit Tikvah Planning
Committee, which includes Sally Ullman, Elizabeth Binder
and Janis Martin, has done “a wonderful job” coordinating
and planning the event.
Reservations will be accepted until Monday, November
11. For more information on the event, call Edwards at
449-3309.

S

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Deadlines for all articles and photos for the Jewish
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County Department of Aging and Youth and the New York
State Office for the Aging, with additional funds provided
by the JCC and United Way of Central New York. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For
more information or to make a reservation, contact Leesa
Paul at 445-2360, ext. 104, or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

The Jewish Observer is a member of the
American Jewish Press Association.

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Paid for by Cizens for Irene Scruton

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Wednesday, October 30................ November 14
Wednesday, November 13............ November 28
Tuesday, November 26, early...... December 12
Tuesday, December 24, early............. January 9

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774

OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774 ■

JCC The SPOT Veterans Day

congregational notes
Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas
Youth-led services
The Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra
Shas youth will lead Friday night and Shabbat morning services during the weekend
of November 1-2.
The congregation’s Friday night Shabbat
Hadorot will have students in third-seventh
grade leading individual prayers, while
a post-b’nai mitzvah student will lead
Ma’ariv. The younger children will have
the opportunity to practice their synagogue
skills in front of the congregation, while the
older students will provide an example for
continued involvement in synagogue life.
Dinner will follow services. Those planning to stay for the dinner should make a
reservation by contacting the CBS-CS office
at 446-9570.
This program year’s first “It’s Cool to

Daven in Shul” service will be held on
Saturday, November 2. Post-b’nai mitzvah
students will lead most of the service, from
Shacharit to haftarah and Musaf, as well as
Torah reading. Other students will be given
various honors, such as opening the ark,
carrying the Torah and having an aliyah.
The congregation’s philosophy includes
“involving its students in the life of the congregation in many ways,” including leading prayer services. For more information,
contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570.
Rummage sale
The Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra
Shas Sisterhood will hold its semi-annual
rummage sale on Sunday, November 3, from
10:15 am-4 pm, with a “bag sale” from 3-4
pm. Proceeds from the sale help support
scholarships for Jewish summer camping

Temple Adath Yeshurun
Celebration Jewish Book Month
By Sonali Eaton
Temple Adath Yeshurun will celebrate
Jewish Book Month on Saturday, November
9, during Shabbat morning services, with
a brief talk by Carol Lipson, professor
emerita of writing and rhetoric at Syracuse
University. She will discuss what makes a
book Jewish.
During the service, the TAY library will
be named the Muriel and Avron Spector

Library. TAY President Howard Weinstein
said, “A Shabbat celebrating Jewish Book
Month is a most appropriate time to acknowledge the naming of the library.” An
extended kiddush will follow.
Lipson will also lead a book discussion of
“The Sandcastle Girls” by Chris Bohjalian
on Sunday, November 10, at 9:30 am. The
book discussion will be an initiative of the
TAY Sisterhood. The community has been
invited to participate.

At left: Sanford Sternlicht, Ph.D., spoke
about Isaac Bashevis Singer on October
13 as part of Temple Adath Yeshurun’s
adult education chavurah speaker series.
Sternlicht stood with Bonnie Wolf, a
member of TAY and the adult education
chavurah group, who helped set up the
Sternlicht lecture at the synagogue.

At right (far right, backfront): Dean Bratslavsky,
Amyah Bullock and Gino
Bullock listened to Carolyn
Weinberg (left) read the
story of Noah’s Ark at TAY’s
Storah Time, which is held
every Tuesday at 10 am.

Mitchell Parsons held candle art he made
during the Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas Kadima event.
experiences, gifts for b’nai mitzvah students
and synagogue needs not included in the
synagogue’s budget.
CBS-CS also collects toiletries for Vera
House and Operation Soap Dish, the latter
collecting toiletries and household products
for clients of St. Lucy’s Food Pantry.
For more information, contact Steffi
Bergman at 632-4905, 243-4009 or
steffibergman@gmail.com.

Hazak concert
CBS-CS Hazak will present a concert,
“Muzic for Hazak,” on Sunday, November
10, at 2 pm, in the CBS-CS social hall.
The concert of Jewish music, including
Yiddish, Hebrew and show tunes, will feature the Keyna Hora Klezmer Band under
the leadership of Mimi Weiner. Cantor
Marvin Moskowitz will participate in the
program and will be accompanied by violinist Sue Jacobs. His repertoire will include an
original song he composed. Aveeya Dinkin,
accompanied by Jonathan Dinkin, will sing
a version of “Sim Shalom” composed by
Jonathan. A trio will sing “Tumbalalaika”
as it was sung by three famous cantors in
the Portuguese-Sephardic Synagogue in
Amsterdam. Other CBS-CS performers
include Carrie Berse, Hanita Blair, Tony
Kenneston-Adams, Marty Miller, Harry
Sommer, Lois Weiner and Cheryl and Mark
Wolfe. The program will end with a Chanukah sing-along led by Cheryl.
There will be a short intermission during
the concert, with refreshments available. The
concert will be free and open to the public.
For more information, contact the CBS-CS
office at 446-9570 or office@cbscs.org.

Temple Concord
Opportunities for young
families
By Cheri Lass
A Shabbat celebration for toddlers and
young children will be held at the Temple
Concord Tot Shabbat on Saturday, November 2, at 10 am. The program will include
songs, prayers, movement, a Shabbat story
and a small snack. Temple Concord offers
Tot Shabbat on the first Shabbat of the
month, alternating between Fridays at 6 pm
and Saturdays at 10 am. Director of Congregational Learning Stephanie Marshall said,
“The children are always fully engaged at
Tot Shabbat!”
Toddlers and preschool children can prepare for Chanukah with “Chanukah Lights!”
at Gan, the monthly preschool program, on
Sunday, November 10, from 10:30 am-noon.
Parents have been encouraged to stay. No
registration will be required.
Katan-Con, a social group for families
with children ranging in age from toddlerfirst grade, will hold its annual candlemaking party on Sunday, November 24,
at 3 pm, at the synagogue. The event will
include stories and Chanukah “treats.”
There will be a fee for the program. To
make a reservation or for more informa-

JEWISH OBSERVER

tion, contact Aaron Spitzer at Judahs_dad@
twcny.rr.com.
TYCon
TYCon, the high school youth group, and
the Junior Youth Group gather at Wegmans in
DeWitt every year for a shopping challenge.
The youths, ranging from fifth-12th grade,
donate money to participate in the event.
The group members will get together this
year on Sunday, November 3, from 12:15-2
pm, starting with lunch before separating
into groups to shop.
After discussing healthy food choices
and what would be most helpful, the donated funds are divided equally for each
group. The challenge is to buy as many
grocery items as possible with the money
allotted. The groups debate choices and
look for bargains.
Once all of the food has been purchased,
the winner is declared. Regardless of who
wins, the event benefits the customers who
visit the Temple Concord food pantry. All
of the purchased food is donated to the
food pantry in time for Thanksgiving. Last
year, the groups collected three full carts of
groceries, and are looking to increase that
amount this year.
See “TC” on page 12

By Nick Finlayson
The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse’s Syracuse Project 4 Our Teens will volunteer at the
Veterans Administration Hospital in Syracuse on Veterans
Day, Monday, November 11, from 9 am-4pm.
Teenagers and pre-teens have been invited to join The
SPOT in “giving back” to armed forces veterans. The
group will travel to the V.A. hospital to spend the morning
socializing with the residents. Volunteers will participate
in crafts, activities and conversation with the veterans.
The teenagers will also help with the Veterans Day pizza
party by passing out lunch and cards, activities that will
be intended to “make the day memorable and rewarding”
for all participants. Participants in the event will receive a
certification upon completion of volunteering.
JCC Director of Children and Teen Services Amy Bisnett
said, “We know that many teens need a variety of volunteer

hours for classes, college, sports and more. This is a great
opportunity to complete hours and help our community,
all while having fun.”
Upon completion of the program, the group will return
to The SPOT at ShoppingTown Mall to finish the day with
a ping pong tournament and prizes. Pre-registration will
be required.

For more information, contact Katie Sutliff, assistant
director of children and teen services at the JCC, at 4452360 or ksutliff@jccsyr.org.
In 2010, The SPOT was founded on four fundamentals:
entertainment, recreation, education and volunteerism for
teenagers. By providing volunteer opportunities, this allows
the JCC to help the community.

JCC New American Coat and Blanket Drive
The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of
Syracuse Director of Children and Teen Services Amy
Bisnett recently began attending monthly meetings with
InterFaith Works, the Center for New Americans and other
area groups. They have formed a partnership to address the
needs of new Americans in the Syracuse area.

“Refuge” the movie
By Lisa Pevtzow
WCNY-TV will present the award winning one-hour
documentary, “Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home” on
Sunday, November 17, at 2 pm, to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938.
The film chronicles the lives of six refugees in context
of the Nazis and documents how a small number worked
to create a community that has sheltered more than 1,000
victims of Nazi persecution from Central Europe. It portrays the world of Central European Jewry prior to World
War II – the middle class, educated and cultured – and the
character of its final generation at the Selfhelp Home in
Chicago. The film is presented by WOUB Public Media
and is distributed to public television stations by American
Public Television.
The film’s director, Ethan Bensinger, who lives in Chicago, comes from a German Jewish family who fled Nazi
Germany in the 1930s and settled in Chicago in 1958. The
documentary grew out of a project to interview the last
remaining survivors and refugees at the Selfhelp Home.
Bensinger said, “Our film explores a community that
will not exist for much longer. Many of the stories are
heartbreaking, and speak of loss of family, of place, of
separation. But they also tell of renewal, of resilience, of
finding love and creating new families, of starting again
in a new land.”
Since its premiere at the Illinois Holocaust Museum
in June 2012, “Refuge” has been screened at various film
festivals, museums, schools, libraries and synagogues. It
received the top award for excellence at the recent Beloit
Film International Festival, as well as Best Documentary
and “Best in Fest” awards at the Sycamore Film Festival,
as well as the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award
at the Geneva Film Festival.
“Refuge” was recently featured in a project by Germany’s

national broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, to trace the remnants
of Germany’s Jewish community around the world.
The refugees and survivors in the film speak of the loss
of their families and homes, as well as making life and
death decisions. Several of the elderly survivors witnessed
Kristallnacht, the coordinated attack by the Nazis against
Jewish communities throughout Germany andAustria. Others
speak of finding refuge in England through the Kindertransport; escaping to the United States and Shanghai; hiding on
estates and in castles in France; and being deported to the
Theresienstadt and Auschwitz concentration camps.
Selfhelp was founded in Chicago in the late 1930s by
young Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany. Through
“pooled resources, prescience and a strong spirit of volunteerism,” Selfhelp provided housing, food, English classes
and job placement services to other displaced Jewish émigrés and, later, after the war, to Holocaust survivors. They
volunteered their own homes and finances to give those
who arrived with nothing the basics needed to start new
lives in a new country.
In 1950, Selfhelp opened a residential home for the oldest refugees and survivors, whose atmosphere reproduced
some of the home life and cultural experiences that they had
lost. To date, more than 1,000 refugees and survivors have
spent their last years at the Selfhelp homes in Chicago’s
Hyde Park and Edgewater communities.
Out of the 30 refugees and survivors Bensinger originally
interviewed, fewer than a dozen are still alive today. He said,
“Within 10 years if or so, there will be no Jewish victims
of Nazi persecution living at Selfhelp. As a filmmaker, I
feel obligated to give a voice to these last eyewitnesses to
life as it was before, during and after the war, so that future
generations understand the consequences of intolerance,
injustice and unmitigated hatred.”
For more information, visit www.refugestories.com.

Invest in
our Experience!

Refugees in search of a new home that is safe and
comfortable come mostly from warmer climates around
the world, including countries such as Cuba, Rwanda and
Sudan. In a combined effort to assist the Center for New
Americans, the JCC will be another site for a gently used
coats and blankets drive. When a refugee family arrives
at Hancock Airport during the fall and winter months, the
Center will provide the family with items to help keep
warm throughout the winter.
Bisnett said, “This is a great event to help new members
of our community. Most people take for granted that they
can stay warm throughout the winter with their own personal coats and blankets. These families sometimes come
to Syracuse with nothing, and are always appreciative of
any assistance they can get.”
In many cases, the refugees’ first winter since arriving
is their first encounter with snow. The drive will accept all
sizes of gently-used winter gear. Donations may be brought
to the foyer of the JCC before Saturday, November 30.
For more information, contact Bisnett at 445-2360.

The financial consultants at Visions Investment Services offer a personalized
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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774

OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774 ■

Kids’ night out

By Nick Finlayson
Children in kindergarten-sixth grade can attend Kids’
Night Out at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center
of Syracuse on Saturday, November 16, from 7-11 pm.
The evening’s theme will be “Fall Fun.”Among the evening’s
activities will be pumpkin decorating, basketball, a movie and
eating snacks. The program will be open to all children within
the age group, but pre-registration will be required.
Jamesville DeWitt Middle School sixth grade student

Selena Relihan said, “I want to go to Kids’ Night Out
because all my friends are there, and I can hang out with
them outside of school.”
Director of Children and Teen Services Amy Bisnett
said, “The children especially like this event because they
can choose what they want to do for the evening. As the
days get shorter and the temperature begins to drop, there
is generally less time for kids to get together and play.
They tend to get stir crazy when the weather outside is not

inviting. Kids’ Night Out gives them a chance to exert their
energy, while giving the parents a night off.”
There will be a cost to attend, with a discount if registration is made by Monday, November 11. There will also be
a maximum price per family.
For more information, contact the JCC Children’s Department
at 445-2360. For a registration form, visit www.jccsyr.org.

The Syracuse area chapter of Na’amat USA will host
a women’s health presentation on Sunday, November 17,
at 10:15 am, at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas.
The free event will be open to the public.
Endocrinologist Arnold Moses, MD, will provide
osteoporosis-related information, including the value of
various supplements taken by women to prevent or delay

the condition. He recommends that participants bring their
Vitamin D and calcium supplements so he can review the
various types with the group. Individuals who wish to
privately discuss bone density reports with him after the
presentation may bring those as well.
For more information, contact chapter Co-president
Karen Roberts at 446-2306 or karher5757@aol.com.

Lillian Patterson, Kaden Clark and Lucy Patterson made
leaf wreaths in the children’s room at the Sam Pomeranz
Jewish Community Center at a JCC Kids’ Night Out.

Dr. Nanette M. Dowling named research director for
Rodney S. and Marjorie Fink Institute of Research on Aging
Dowling noted that among the many colBy Stewart Koenig
laborations
that will help advance the Institute’s
The Rodney S. and Marjorie Fink Institute of
goals, the presence of Syracuse Jewish Family
Research on Aging has appointed geriatric psyService, also located at Menorah Park, will
chiatrist Nanette M. Dowling, D.O., M.H.P.A.,
provide the field team needed to reach out to the
as its first research director. Focusing on geriatric
community. She said, “Field study is crucial to
mental health, Dowling will assume responsibility
our success and SJFS is well-equipped to work
for the applied research agenda of the Institute,
with and help our older citizens.” She also said
which is housed at Menorah Park of Central
she is looking forward to facilitating an “even
New York.
closer relationship” between the Institute, SJFS
Dowling is also an attending psychiatrist and
and Upstate’s Department of Psychiatry, among
associate professor at SUNY Upstate Medical
other regional community institutions.
University in the Department of Psychiatry. She is
Preliminary data will be presented by the
board-certified in psychiatry, with a sub-specialty Dr. Nanette M.
Institute, SUNY Oswego and SUNY Upstate at
in geriatric psychiatry. She did her psychiatry resiDowling
a community forum on Tuesday, November 12,
dency at SUNY-Upstate and a geriatric fellowship
at Columbia University and the Greater Binghamton Health
Center. She also holds a master’s degree in health policy
and administration, and received a doctor of osteopathy
degree from Touro University.
She said, “I’m ecstatic for this opportunity to lead the
The public has been invited to the public forum “Aging in
charge in research on geriatric mental health at the Fink
Institute of Research on Aging. Issues of depression and Focus: Geriatric Mental Health” on Tuesday, November 12,
anxiety in the elderly have largely been undiagnosed and from 8:30-11:30 am, at the Syracuse Crowne Plaza Hotel.
under-treated. The Institute will distinguish itself through The forum is part of the Geriatric Mental Health Community
research that considers real people and their unique chal- Action Initiative presented by the Rodney S. and Marjorie
lenges. We will develop best practices from numerous Fink Institute of Research on Aging at Menorah Park and
perspectives, including technological advances and spe- the State University of New York Oswego Metro Center
cialized geriatric mental health care, to meet the complex Active Aging and Community Engagement Center.
National geriatric expert Dr. Stephen Bartels from
needs of our aging population.”

of the Geriatric Mental Health Community Action Initiative, which was recently launched by SUNY Oswego and
the Institute, with funding from the Health Foundation for
Western and Central New York. The forum will feature
national geriatric expert Dr. Stephen Bartels from Dartmouth University, as well as a panel of local stakeholders
and experts who will reunite in the spring for a consensus
conference and action plan. Dowling said, “This public
event will fuel the development of collaborative strategies
for meeting regional geriatric mental health care needs. We
are excited about the upcoming symposium and launch of
several projects which aim to have an immediate impact
in our community and beyond.”
Warren Wolfson, board chair for the Menorah Park
See “Dowling” on page 10

Fink Institute and SUNY Oswego to hold
public forum on geriatric mental illness

Dartmouth University will be the keynote speaker.
IMPARA Research Director Dr. Nanette Dowling will
join Bartels, Onondaga County Mental Health Commissioner Robert Long, National Alliance on Mental Health
Syracuse President Judy Bliss Ridgeway and others in a
panel discussion.
For more information or to register for the free event,
contact Judith Huober at 446-9111, ext. 236, or jhuober@
menorahparkcny.com.

Pre-wedding beauty tips for the bride
(NewsUSA) – You want
ever ything to be picture
perfect for your wedding,
including your smile. But like
everything else about your
big day, that perfect smile
could require some work
ahead of time. In fact, experts
suggest starting your entire
beauty regimen six months
before the wedding.
Here’s a pre-wedding
beauty checklist.
Lips: Get soft, kissable lips by brushing away flakes of
dry skin with an infant toothbrush soaked in baking soda
and water. Apply healing ointment, and in no time, your lips
will be ready for that “kiss the bride” kiss.
Teeth: A cosmetic dentist can often correct an imperfect

smile with veneers. But if spending painful hours in the
dentist’s chair getting your teeth ground down sounds like it
See “Bride” on page 8

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315.291.3723

8

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774

OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774 ■

To Brighten
the Festival
of Lights

NCJW Hannah Solomon luncheon

By Vicki Feldman
At the 41st annual Hannah G. Solomon Award luncheon
on October 7, Elaine Rubenstein received the National
Council of Jewish Women, Greater Syracuse Section’s
Hannah G. Solomon Award, a national award presented
by individual sections of NCJW. The award is named for
the founder of NCJW. It is given to women who have dem-

Charles Sherman gave the benediction.
For the past several years, the event has sponsored a
mitzvah project chaired by Robin Goldberg to collect
items for children in need. This year, guests were asked
to bring items to be given to donate to McCarthy@
Beard, a program run by the Syracuse City School
District. In addition, NCJW received a grant from the
Sam Pomeranz Trust to purchase necessities for foster
children of Child Protective Services in Onondaga
County’s Children’s Division.
To donate, contact Goldberg at 952-8059 or radshesh@
gmail.com.

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Recipients of the Hannah G. Solomon Award given by National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Syracuse Section,
assembled at the recent luncheon honoring Elaine Rubenstein (seated, third from the right).

Magnificent
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NCJW members donated items for the McCarthy@Beard
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addition to items for the Onondaga County Department
of Child Protective Services, money for the latter coming
from a grant from the Sam Pomeranz Trust.

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10

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774

Calendar
Highlights
To see a full calendar of community events,
visit the Federation's community calendar online
at www.jewishfederationcny.org. Please notify
jstander@jewishfederationcny.org of any calendar changes.

Saturday, November 2
TAY musical Shabbat at 9:15 am
SyraJews presents communitywide workshop,
Bread and Torah, at the JCC from 7-10 pm
Sunday, November 3
SyraJews presents communitywide workshop
for all religious school students, Bread and
Torah, at the JCC from 9:30 am-12:30 pm
Tuesday, November 5
Federation Board of Directors meeting at the
JCC at 5:30 pm
Temple Concord presents Dolce Flutes at 7 pm
Wednesday, November 6
Temple Adath Yeshurun Hazak meeting at 8:45 am
Sunday, November 10
TAY book discussion at 9:30 am
TAY Hazak program at 1 pm
Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas Hazak
musical program at 2 pm
Monday, November 11
The SPOT activities for children in seventh 12 grade from 9 am-4 pm
TC scholars program at 6 pm
Wednesday, November 13
Deadline for the November 28 issue of the
Jewish Observer
Saturday, November 16
JCC fall kids night out from 7-11 pm

b’nai mitzvah
Rachel Leah Elman

Rachel Leah Elman, daughter of
Miriam and Colin Elman, of Fayetteville, became bat mitzvah at Shaarei
Torah Orthodox Congregation of
Syracuse on October 6.
She is a student at Manlius Pebble
Hill School and is a graduate of the
Syracuse Hebrew Day School. She
has opened a b’nai mitzvah fund at
the Jewish Community Foundation
of Central New York, and will be
able to make recommendations for
Rachel Leah
grants from a pooled fund to support
Elman
both local charities and not-for-profit
organizations in Israel.
She enjoys science, reading, writing and travel.

Please support our advertisers and tell them
you saw their ad here in
The

OCTOBER 31, 2013/27 CHESHVAN 5774 ■

d’var torah

obituaries

The blame game

By Alan Sukert
This week’s sedrah, Toldot, focuses on the relationship between two brothers – Jacob and Esau. There are so
many ways of dissecting their relationship that one could
write dozens of d’vrei Torah. In fact, looking through my
archives, I found that I wrote a d’var Torah on this topic in
2009. Back then, it focused on the parent-child relationship
among Yitzchak, Rebecca, Jacob and Esau.
This time, I want to focus on something that has considerable relevance to the events going on in Washington.
The good news was that there was a deal to get the U.S.
government back working and avoiding defaulting on our
loans. However, the process of getting to that agreement was
tortuous, to say the least, and ripe with one important word
– blame. Democrats blamed the Tea Party and Conservative
Republicans for holding the government hostage to scuttle
“Obamacare.” Republicans blamed Democrats for using the
crisis to their political advantage and for passing Obamacare
in the first place. Everyone else blamed Congress for the
partisanship that has led to crises like this and for the lack
of action on the key issues facing this country today.
It turns out that there is a blame game going on in this
week’s sedrah as well. In the beginning of the sedrah, we
see how Esau sold his birthright for food because he was
“at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright”
(Bereshit 25:32) do to him? At the time, Esau didn’t care
about the birthright; immediate materialistic personal
gratification was worth more to him than the importance
of his spiritual heritage. Some 50 years later, Rebecca and
Jacob fool a dying Yitzchak into giving Jacob the blessing
that should have gone to Esau, again as the rabbis pointed
out, because Rebecca rightly (in their view) understood
that Esau wasn’t worthy of receiving the right to carry on
the traditions started by Abraham and Yitzchak.
I am not judging whether Jacob and Rebecca were morally
right or wrong; that’s a discussion for another time. What is
of interest to me here is Esau’s reaction at the time he sold
his birthright and then, about 50 years later, when Jacob stole
Esau’s blessing. As I stated earlier, Esau’s reaction at the
time he sold his birthright to Jacob was one of indifference;
he just didn’t think his birthright was important enough to
be of concern. Esau didn’t appear angry when he sold his
birthright. In fact, Esau made an oath with Jacob to bind the
selling of his birthright and as the Torah says, “Esau despised
his birthright,” i.e. it wasn’t of any value to him.
Fifty years later, Yitzchak is near death and wants to

Dowling

Continued from page 7

Foundation, said, “With Dr. Nanette Dowling at the research helm, the Institute for Applied Research on Aging
starts its climb to world-class standing. The Institute will
bring clarity to these monumentally important issues affecting our older citizens, their families and caregivers.
The Foundation is proud to support it and looks forward
to others lending their support as well.”
The Rodney S. and Marjorie Fink Institute of Research
on Aging is located at 4101 E. Genesee St., Syracuse.
For more information, contact Victoria Kohl, Menorah
Park Foundation vice president, at 446-9111 or vkohl@
menorahparkcny.com.

Joseph “Jerry” H. Ettinger

bless his sons. Esau’s reaction to Jacob’s subterfuge and
“stealing” of the first blessing that should have been his as
the oldest was much different from before: no indifference
now. In fact, Esau now blames Jacob for obtaining Esau’s
birthright – “Is he not rightly named Jacob? Since he hath
gone behind me these two times, he took my birthright and
see now he took away my blessing....” (Bereshit 27:36)
Why blame Jacob all of a sudden, when it didn’t seem to
matter to Esau 50 years earlier?
What we see here is the anatomy of the blame game in
a micro version. The rabbis comment that during the 50
years between the selling of his birthright and having his
blessing “stolen” by Jacob, Esau believed he was a victim
of Jacob’s actions, even though he conveniently ignores
the fact that he willingly sold his birthright. Now that he
views himself as a victim a second time, he can no longer
stay silent. He hates Jacob, but instead of anger, his reaction
is to blame Jacob for his troubles. “You did this to me,” he
is telling Jacob. “I had nothing to do with it.”
I am not a psychologist, but it seems to me that what
Esau is doing is avoiding facing his own complicity in
these events and transferring his anger to Jacob. Esau never
understood what the birthright really meant, but that was
no longer important. The only thing important was that he
was wronged and it was all Jacob’s fault. That seems to
be the key to the “blame game” – avoid your involvement
and talk yourself into believing that it’s all the other guy’s
fault. Maybe Jacob and Esau would have had a better relationship if Esau had at least admitted to himself that he
was just as involved in selling the birthright as Jacob was.
Maybe if he had been angry at the time, instead of harboring blame, he might have been able to eventually forgive
Jacob and maybe even understand what the birthright and
the blessings really meant to Jacob.
I have been in the quality field for more than 40 years,
and early in my career, I took a course on why the Japanese
in the late 1970s and ‘80s had supplanted the U.S. in terms
of the quality of their products. The instructor pointed out
something that has stuck with me to this day: the biggest
difference between the U.S. and Japan that led to the latter’s
success was that when a problem occurred, the U.S. looked
for someone to blame; the Japanese didn’t point blame,
they fixed the problem.
The “blame game” – we all do it when something goes
wrong. “Whose fault was it? Whom can I blame for it?”
rather than “What was my involvement? What could I have
done to prevent or minimize the problem, and what can I
do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?” We are seeing it
all over politics at the national, state and local levels. This
blame game brought us to the brink of a serious national
economic crisis. Only we can know what our individual
blame of others has done to our relationships with friends
and relatives. It hasn’t been that long since Yom Kippur.
Maybe it would be better if all of us, especially Congress,
stopped pointing fingers and continued the spirit of introspection and change we went through during the High
Holidays. It is time to start recognizing our own complicity
in our problems and look at ways we can fix them rather
than blame someone else for them. I’m tired of the “blame
game” and I hope everyone finally is as well.
Alan Sukert is an engineer with Xerox Corporation in
Rochester and a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun.

Jewish Student of the Month
Julian David-Drori is a founder. At the Syracuse Hebrew Day School, he founded
d the Mitzvah Detective Agency
Agency, a club
which did “nice things for nice people.” At Jamesville-Dewitt High School, where
re he is a junior, Julian is the founder and
d a talent for sharing his fascination of them
current president of the Civil War Re-Enactors Club. He has many interests and
with others. His love of Civil War history took him to Gettysburg this summer for
or the 150th anniversary of the famous
battle. He also has a clever sense of humor. His motivation for creating the Re-Enactors
-Enactors
E
t
Club,
Cl b ffor which
hi h he
h had
h d to
t petition
titi
the J-D school board for funding, was “to educate people about history - and because it is fun wearing the uniforms.”
An SHDS graduate, he has returned for two months every year for the past five yyears to
serve as stage manager for the SHDS spring musical. He is greatly admired by the younger
students and has attracted a cadre of children who vie for positions on the technica
technical crew
nvention this
– known as Julian’s Tech Nation. His leadership skills were evident at Camp Invention
past summer at the JCC, and he also volunteers at community events such as the Israeli
ks.
Independence Day Celebration and at The Oaks.
OF CENTRAL NEW

Since third grade, Julian has been fascinated by sharks and
out them and
said, “There is still so much we don't know about
like mysteries.” (Remember the detective agency?)
ency?) A
certified scuba diver, Julian is thinking aboutt becoming a
marine biologist. He cites his family as the greatest
reatest
influence in his life, saying “My family has always
ways been
eresting to
loving and supportive of me and I find it interesting
learn about my family's lineage.”

I

Julian David-Drori in
Gettysburg at the Union General's
camp, with
ith a Zouave
Z
captain.
t i

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locally-owned investment and management firm is proud to support the
Jewish Observer by spotlighting Jewish youths who are making a difference in
Central New York. For more information: www.ravproperties.com,
315-403-9000

Joseph H. Ettinger, 92, died at the Nottingham Residential
Health Care Facility on October 11.
Born in The Bronx, NY, he graduated from DeWitt
Clinton High School in 1939, earning honors in mathematics and running track. He graduated from City College of
New York with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering
in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army during World War
II from 1944-46 and was awarded Battle Stars for the
Battles of France and Germany. He was also awarded the
Good Conduct Medal, which he issued to himself when he
became first sergeant. He was employed as an engineer in
the aerospace industry, working for many years on defense
systems at Bendix Corporation, Sperry Gyroscope and
Loral Electronics. He enjoyed playing bridge, golf and
tennis well into his 80s.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Celia; his daughter, Deborah (Duane) Cramer, of Cazenovia, NY; two
grandchildren; and his daughter, Helaine Ettinger (Jeffrey
Stein), of Seattle, WA.
Burial was in Cedar Park Cemetery, NJ. Sisskind Funeral
Service had arrangements.


Barbara Gordon LeFevre

Barbara Gordon LeFevre, 68, of Camillus, died unexpectedly on September 23 at Crouse Hospital.
A graduate of Nottingham High School, she was a
buyer for Dey Brothers and Chappell’s for years. She was
employed with Pottery Barn Kids at the time of her death
and recently received an award for the highest hourly sales
within the U.S. She volunteered with Make-A-Wish and
was an integral part of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer
Research Fund of Central New York for 13 years, raising
thousands of dollars for research. She was an avid reader
and enjoyed word games.
She was predeceased by her parents, Samuel and Anna
Gordon, and a sister, Arlene Mintz.
She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Peter;
daughters, Kimberly (Robert) Kovacs, of Cicero, and Jacki
Bolton, of Camillus; son, Jason Bolton, of Syracuse; sisters,
Ruth Golden, of Manlius, Rosalie Battaglia, of Florida,
and Lynne Bartosch, of Clay; brother, Norman Gordon,
of Syracuse; three grandsons; several nieces and nephews;
and many friends.
The burial was private. Buranich Funeral Home had
arrangements.
Contributions may be made to the Carol M. Baldwin
Breast Cancer Research Fund of Central New York, P.O.
Box 356, Camillus, NY 13031.


Ethel Meltzer Sall Rothfeld

Ethel Sall Rothfeld, 91, died on October 11 at Crouse
Hospital.
A life resident of Syracuse, she was a graduate of Central
High School, a member of Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas and Temple Adath Yeshurun, and was active
in their Sisterhoods.
She was predeceased by her husbands, Max Sall and
Arthur Rothfeld. She is survived by her daughters, Tara
Cornell and Bennye Taylor; two grandchildren; and a
large family.
Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Sisskind Funeral Service had arrangements.
Contributions in Ethel’s memory may be made to Temple
Adath Yeshurun, 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224.


Refugees

Continued from page 1

with a small burner and piles of pots and pans, serves as
the tent kitchen.
Although they eagerly crowd the distribution truck, most
refugees appear healthy, if needy. While the distribution goes
on, one resident insists that the workers sit for some coffee.
But an elderly woman shakes as she pulls a deformed
hand out of her robe, her two fingers wrapped backwards and
melded into what was left of her palm. After the bombing that
caused her injury, she joined her children and grandchildren
on the 60-mile trek. Now she says nothing, her wrinkled face
and sunken eyes conveying a resigned helplessness.
Zahavi hopes that within a month, IsraAid can bring
social workers to Mafraq to help refugees cope with the
psychological trauma. Israelis, Zahavi says, are experts in
trauma care after decades of dealing with terror attacks.
“My main agenda is to put Israelis on the ground around
the world and show the world that Israel cares about them,”
he says.
IsraAid receives support from several foundations, but the
organization says some of its donors initially were reluctant
to fund its work in Jordan for fear of becoming involved in
the Syria-Israel conflict. But the aid worker says that when
refugees discover the Israeli connection, they are still grateful
for the help – no matter its political implications.

JEWISH OBSERVER

11

Continued from page 2

anyone in my life. On other occasions, anti-Israel activists
called me a rapist. The claims go beyond being absurd – in
one case, a professor asked me if I knew how many Palestinians have been raped by IDF forces. I answered that
as far as I knew, none. She triumphantly responded that I
was right, because, she said, “You IDF soldiers don’t rape
Palestinians because Israelis are so racist and disgusted by
them that you won’t touch them.”
Such irrational accusations are symptomatic of dangerous
antisemitism. Yet, alarmingly, most mainstream American
Jews are completely oblivious to this ugly movement and
the threat it poses. They seem to be asleep, unaware that this
anti-Jewish bigotry is peddled on campuses, by speakers
in high schools, churches and communities, and is often
deceptively camouflaged in the rhetoric of human rights.
The American Jewish community and its leaders are
not providing a united front to combat this latest threat.
Unfortunately, this repeats a pattern of Jewish communal
groups failing to unite in a timely way to counter threats
against us individually and as a community.
Shockingly, a small but very vocal number of Jews
actively support BDS. They often belong to organizations that prominently include “Jewish” in their names,
like Jewish Voice for Peace, to give cover to BDS and the
antisemitism that animates it. A question that we, as a Jew-

ish community, must ask ourselves, is whether it is ever
appropriate to include and accept Jews who support BDS
and directly or indirectly advocate the ultimate elimination
of the Jewish state of Israel.
I think it is not.
My experiences in America have changed me. I never
expected to encounter such hatred and lies. I never believed
that such antisemitism still existed, especially in the U.S.
I never knew that the battlefield was not just Gaza, the
West Bank and hostile Middle Eastern countries wanting
to destroy Israel and kill our citizens and soldiers. It is also
here in America, where a battle must be waged against
prejudice and lies.
I implore American Jews: do more.
Israel cannot fight this big battle alone. If you are affiliated with a Jewish organization, let it know you want
it to actively, openly and unequivocally oppose the BDS
campaign and those who support it. Inform yourself, your
friends and families, by visiting websites of organizations
like StandWithUs, Jewish Virtual Library, AIPAC, AJC
and others that will update you and provide information
about BDS and antisemitism.
I urge the organized Jewish community and its members
to wake up and stand up for the Jewish state of Israel, and
for all it represents, and for all it works to achieve.

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Books and ritual items will be buried in the upper
parking lot of Beth El Cemetery on Monday, November
4, at 8 am.
Syracuse Hebrew Day School fifth and sixth grade
students will participate in the ritual burial. Anyone with
ritual books or other ritual items needing burial should
bring them to the cemetery that morning.
For more information, contact Steven Sisskind at 4464848.

NEWS IN bRIEF
From JTA

It’s official: Flug is first female to head
Bank of Israel

Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved the appointment
of Karnit Flug as Bank of Israel governor, making her the
first woman in the post. The Cabinet on Oct. 27 gave its
support to the nomination by Finance Minister Yair Lapid
and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Several days
earlier, an advisory panel chaired by retired Supreme Court
Justice Jacob Turkel backed Flug for the position. The deputy
governor since July 2011, Flug has been serving as acting
governor since Stanley Fischer stepped down on June 30.
Fischer recommended Flug to be his replacement. “Karnit
Flug has the appropriate background and experience, and
she has fulfilled her position in recent months very well,”
Netanyahu said in a statement following the approval. “In
addition to the fact that we are successfully navigating the
Israeli economy in the face of the global crisis, Israel’s
economic leadership must continue to advance growth and
employment, increase exports and lower housing prices.”
Her appointment comes after two would-be appointees withdrew their names from the nomination after embarrassing
personal information came to light. Lawrence Summers,
a former U.S. Treasury secretary and president of Harvard
University, also reportedly turned down the post earlier in
October. Flug had resigned from her position after being
passed over to replace Fischer.

TC

Continued from page 4

Scholar Series
Louis Kriesberg will speak on Monday, November 11, at
6 pm, about the “Implications for American Foreign Policy
of the Constructive Conflict Approach” as part of the Temple
Concord Scholar Series, which presents free, one-hour programs featuring professors from Syracuse University and
other schools who are experts on politics, health, science
and culture. Donations will be appreciated.
His approach purports that conflicts are “inevitable and
often beneficial.” He argues that they can be waged “constructively, because they can be conducted non-coercively
to a large degree” and that they are “socially constructed
and are subject to transformation.” The ideas and practices
of the constructive conflict approach have been increasingly
applied, contributing to reducing violence and injustice
globally. The implications of these developments will be
discussed in the context of considering aspects of American policy in ending the Cold War, and of considering less
destructive ways of fighting terrorism and better mediation
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kriesberg, who received his Ph.D. in 1953 at the University of Chicago, is professor emeritus of sociology, Maxwell
professor emeritus of social conflict studies and founding
director of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of
Conflicts (1986-94), all at Syracuse University.
While usually held on Tuesdays, the November scholar
program will be held on a Monday. The event will be open
to the public.
Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series to
present Dolce Flutes
By Stephanie Marshall
The Regina F. Goldenberg Cultural Series will present
Dolce Flutes, a professional flute quartet, on Tuesday,
November 5, at 7 pm.
Series Chair Vicki Feldman said, “If you have not been
to an evening of the Goldenberg Series yet, you don’t know
what you are missing.”
The quartet’s performances cover baroque to contemporary musical styles. Goldenberg performances are free
of charge, although donations will be appreciated.
Seasoned Citizens
Temple Concord seniors will get together on Tuesday,
November 19, for the monthly Seasoned Citizens program,
coordinated by Janis Martin. They will gather at 2 pm at
The Oaks for a program about “Scams to Seniors.”
A representative from the New York State Attorney
General’s office will discuss the most recent scams directed toward senior citizens. The public has been invited
to attend.
For more information, contact Martin at jmmartin@
twcny.rr.com.